{"id":2916,"date":"2019-06-13T10:38:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T14:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/innovationhub\/?p=2916"},"modified":"2024-06-20T15:34:56","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T19:34:56","slug":"displayyourpride-celebrating-individuality-creating-connectedness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/innovationhub\/displayyourpride-celebrating-individuality-creating-connectedness\/","title":{"rendered":"#DisplayYourPride: Celebrating Individuality, Creating Connectedness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Allie Dainow
Design Research Assistant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Rhea Makund
Design Research Assistant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the Innovation Hub, we were excited to participate in #DisplayYourPride at the University of Toronto, so we could show our support for the LGBTQ+ community. Pride Month at U of T, with its vision of making every student at this university feel safe, accepted, and heard, aligns with our own goal at the Innovation Hub of improving student experiences through empathy-based research that inspires social justice and social change. Thus, #DisplayYourPride was the perfect opportunity to create an installation that celebrates individuality and connectedness, and that rededicates us to our own efforts to create an environment that includes all students.<\/p>\n

We centred our installation around the question, \u201cWhat does Pride mean to you?\u201d Each member of our team answered this question with a word that spoke to them. By answering this question individually, we captured the uniqueness of each team member and fostered a sense of empathy for each other. We saw how each person\u2019s response was both similar to, and different from, others, and learned how Pride resonates with other people.<\/p>\n

We used our words in an interactive word tunnel, where we each took turns walking through a tunnel formed by our team members, who held up their own words. The walk was a moving experience for us, as we were able to experience being in a space that embodied uniqueness and acceptance.<\/p>\n

Our words, which were written on puzzle pieces, were then used to complete a heart-shaped Tetris puzzle that represented connectedness and inclusiveness. The individual puzzle pieces and words formed distinct parts, but also combined into a larger whole that showed how differences of all kinds can come together to form something meaningful if we are accepting of one another. We felt a sense of interconnectedness that reflects how important it is for all students to feel this.<\/p>\n

Our #DisplayYourPride installation demonstrates the continued love and support the Innovation Hub has towards not only the LGBT+ community, but also the individuality of every student at U of T.<\/p>\n